


You Sank My Battleship (But Not My Heart)

by rogueshadows



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 22:24:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13222467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rogueshadows/pseuds/rogueshadows
Summary: Also known as: The Great 7 Minutes in Heaven New Year's Ambush Spectacular“I’m not even playing Jyn, I don’t think that counts!” Bodhi complains, wondering who he’s expected to go kiss and how much of a disaster it will be. Han claps Bodhi on the shoulder with a wink. “Go get him, kid,” he says unhelpfully. Bodhi ignores the comment, too busy panicking over the person Jyn is pushing toward him.Cassian Andor.The same Cassian Andor who Bodhi has had a hopeless crush on all semester. Bodhi feels his face heat, wishing he’d never told Jyn about his feelings in the first place.





	You Sank My Battleship (But Not My Heart)

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to misskatieleigh for beta'ing and to fallsouthwinter for serving as a springboard for some of this. Without people to cheer me on I would never get anything finished!
> 
> The title is very silly, leave better titles in comments if you come up with any XD

The party in Bodhi's apartment is already in full swing, judging by the sounds of music and laughter Bodhi can make out from the hallway. He balances the brown paper bag containing the last minute liquor purchases Jyn had sent him out for, briefly considering leaving them on the doorstep and visiting the nice older couple upstairs instead. Not that he doesn't enjoy the parties Jyn throws at their apartment, it's just that sometimes the amount of people makes him nervous. He’s had a long day, driving across town to pick up a book he needs for next semester. Fighting the thrall of post holiday shoppers searching for sales had been exhausting in its own right. It’s only eight and he has hours ahead of corralling drunk friends and trying not to get too wasted himself before the ball drops.

Bodhi swallows his hesitation, mustering up some sense of holiday spirit before he enters. He opens the door to the group of friends and acquaintances mingling there and tries to feel glad at the turnout, the smell of good food, and the way the music make the house feel alive. Lando raises a hand to wave and Bodhi shoots him a smile, unable to reciprocate with his arms full. He barely catches sight of Jyn through a group of people huddled around the coffee table. Bodhi doesn’t pay much mind to the group, hustling past the few spectators standing in his path to the kitchen to get rid of the heavy bag in his arms.

Eventually, Bodhi makes his way through, setting the bag on the counter and grabbing a mini pizza bagel from the tray there. He leans back and takes a satisfying bite, glad just to be warm after the frigid air outside. Han Solo follows him into the kitchen, making a beeline for the bag, and grinning at the rum he pulls out.

“Aw Rook, you shouldn’t have.”

“You’re welcome,” Bodhi says.

“Sincere thanks, kid,” Han responds, pouring an ample amount into a glass with just a splash of Coca Cola as a chaser. “Jyn said something about wanting you back out there for a game, nearly pitched a fit at how late you were running.”

“She’s the one who made me stop,” Bodhi says, rolling his eyes over the smile that pulls at his mouth. Han pours another drink with a more normal rum to soda ratio and hands it to Bodhi with a shrug.

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. Just... c’mon,” Han says, tilting his head and exiting through the swinging kitchen door. Bodhi takes a long sip of his drink, savoring the warm burn before he follows. Bodhi tries to get to Jyn’s side but more people have shuffled in. Someone moves out of the way, just enough for Jyn to spot him. She perks up immediately from her spot on the couch, standing to wave. Then she shifts her gaze down to the coffee table and grins before looking back up.

“Stay right there!” Jyn calls out, sounding amused and pointing at him haphazardly. Bodhi freezes and raises an eyebrow, peeking past Han’s shoulder only for him to step out of the way entirely. Bodhi catches sight of the spinning bottle too late to react before it’s stopped moving, facing him unquestionably. There is chorus of pointed oohing from his assembled friends and Bodhi wants to melt into the floor.

“I’m not even playing Jyn, I don’t think that counts!” Bodhi complains, wondering who he’s expected to go kiss and how much of a disaster it will be. Han claps Bodhi on the shoulder with a wink. “Go get him, kid,” he says unhelpfully. Bodhi ignores the comment, too busy panicking over the person Jyn is pushing toward him. _Cassian Andor._ The same Cassian Andor who Bodhi has had a hopeless crush on all semester _._ Bodhi feels his face heat, wishing he’d never told Jyn about his feelings in the first place.

“Of course it counts! Right Cassian?” Jyn says exuberantly, shooting Bodhi a bright smile that she probably thinks is encouraging. 

“Really Jyn, he doesn’t have to-” Cassian starts, looking conflicted. At the same time Bodhi sputters, “I don’t think Cassian wants...um…” How Jyn managed to rig the game is a mystery. To add insult to injury, Cassian looks distractingly good, dressed in a tight grey sweater and dark jeans that make it hard to protest. Jyn ignores them both, pushing Cassian more firmly into Bodhi’s space. Cassian looks ambushed, letting out an awkward laugh. He mutters softly, “Hey Bodhi,” like a second thought. Bodhi only has time to nod before he’s cut off from his own greeting by Jyn. 

“Come on, everyone needs a New Years kiss, right?” Jyn insists, looking to their assembled friends for support. The others cheer in agreement and Luke even whistles. Bodhi makes note never to let any of them into the apartment again, knowing there is very little chance of getting out of his fate. Bodhi shares a shy look with Cassian.

“I suppose we’re trapped,” Bodhi says quietly to Cassian, ignoring his traitor roommate.

“Let’s humor them,” Cassian agrees, sounding amused. That at least eases some of Bodhi’s anxiety. Bodhi drains the rest of his drink, depositing the empty (glass? cup? on a shelf before they reach the hall closet, thrumming with nerves. Jyn opens the door and pushes them inside unceremoniously. 

“You know the rules, seven minutes!” Jyn says gleefully, shutting the door with a resounding click. Bodhi trips over a pair of boots on the ground, stumbling into Cassian who steadies them both. The easy touch on Bodhi’s elbow has his heart racing already in the dark.

“Hold on,” Bodhi says, clearing his throat and feeling overheated. He reaches up and manages to light the single bulb above them with a tug of the hanging string. The light is still dim, but more bearable as Bodhi’s eyes adjust, nudging the tote bags of Jyn’s abandoned craft supplies back with his foot to give them a bit more space. 

“Much better,” Cassian says, meeting Bodhi’s eyes. In the light, Bodhi can make out the easy smile on his face, the way his long hair is tousled over his forehead. He looks amazing as usual. Bodhi feels glad that it wasn’t ‘classic’ spin the bottle they’d been subjected to, knowing he would have combusted to have to kiss Cassian out in the open. Bodhi nods dumbly, fingers toying with the edge of his sleeves.

Bodhi hadn’t even known Cassian was coming to the party, which in retrospect was probably a targeted oversight on the part of his scheming friends. If he’d known that he was going to be shoved into a closet with his crush, he would have made sure to get home early enough to change into something nicer than his rumpled college sweatshirt, done something with his hair other than the loose bun at the base of his neck. More likely he would have chickened out and not shown at all. He can actually picture himself hiding out in the library, safe from such social disasters.

Bodhi doesn’t know what to say to Cassian. They only ever talked briefly in their shared History class, along with the few times they’d sat together in the library over finals bonding quietly over how exhausted they both were. It wasn’t much to build a friendship on, but Cassian was kind and familiar and somehow their friend groups intersected. He can’t help but wonder if Cassian had been playing the game for a chance to kiss someone else at the party. What a disappointment being stuck with Bodhi must feel like in comparison. The elephant in the room, er, closet, has him feeling even more awkward than usual around Cassian, wondering if he should try to go for it or laugh it off.

“Sorry you got dragged into the game like that, my friends roped me in too if that makes you feel any better,” Cassian says, breaking the silence before Bodhi can come up with the words to ask. It does help, in a way, to know he’s not the only one being put on the spot.

“I should have expected it,” Bodhi says, shaking his head with a self-deprecating grin, “Sorry you got saddled with me.”

“It’s not so bad,” Cassian says, “At least we get to talk about something that isn’t French court politics for once.” There’s a joke about french kissing in there somewhere, but Bodhi pushes it aside as too mortifying to put into words. 

“Damn, I really wanted to talk about the Tennis Court Oath,” Bodhi says, pleased when Cassian laughs in response.

“Please don’t, I can only picture Draven rambling on about it.” Bodhi mock shudders at the mention. “At least he liked _you_ ,” Bodhi says, “he kept putting me in group projects with the worst people.”

“That last one with Dameron was kind of rough,” Cassian says, which is an understatement, although it’s a kind one. 

“I swear he wasn’t even enrolled in the class!” Bodhi shakes his head, trying to repress the flashback of Kes reading directly from the slides and not being able to answer any of the questions directed at him, leaving Bodhi to sputter through what he could in mortification. He’d always been awful at public speaking and the added pressure didn’t help any. Bodhi's half sure his partner’s distraction had been due to Shara Bey sitting in the front row but Kes would never own up to it.

“I’m glad _you_ were enrolled though,” Bodhi adds, trying not to dwell on the negative parts of last semester anymore than he has to. “Your coffee runs when we met up in the library saved my life.”

“Me too, it was nice to have someone around,” Cassian agrees, “even if we did mostly bitch about Napoleon and keep each other from falling asleep.”

“That was one time,” Bodhi murmurs. It’s easier to talk to Cassian than he expected. Not nearly as suffocating as he’d imagined. Bodhi's still smiling fondly at Cassian when he turns and notices the board games and puzzles on the shelf.

“I bet I could beat you in Battleship before Jyn comes back for us,” Cassian says, a mischievous look in his eyes. Bodhi laughs. 

“You’re on.”

\---

It should only be a short game, except Jyn doesn’t come back for them as scheduled. Bodhi knows at some point they both realize that it’s been too long, still hearing the sounds of the party beyond the door all too clearly. Leia yelling at Han sticks out particularly, sparking an animated discussion about the mismatched pair. Part of him is just waiting for Cassian to get up and leave, say it’s been nice but of course there are other people he’d rather hang with at the party. Cassian can’t possibly be having fun stuck in a closet playing a game meant for kids. He doesn’t feel too sorry, not when he’s busy calling Cassian out for cheating.

“You can totally see my ships from there! It’s only the third move, there’s no way you guessed!” Bodhi squawks in defiance. They’d both settled on the floor, fitting the board between them and using a few stacked boxes as a makeshift table to keep them from seeing their opponents pieces. It was a little cramped, but it worked, right up until Cassian straightened up to stretch suspiciously and promptly shot down Bodhi’s cruiser one turn later.

“I’ve studied military history, it gives me a tactical advantage,” Cassian counters.

“You’re such a bullshitter,” Bodhi says, unable to hold back a laugh. Cassian grins and Bodhi only just notices him peeking down over the flimsy plastic barrier again.

“Hey! I’m moving all my ships now, stay to your own side of the closet,” Bodhi says. Cassian snorts and shuffles back a bit anyway, holding his hands up in surrender jokingly.

“I would never cheat, but if it makes you feel better,” Cassian says, fighting to keep a serious expression, but failing terribly. Bodhi ducks his head, wanting to do something stupid like pull Cassian in close. To kiss him like everyone assumed they’ve been doing this whole time.

Bodhi sets up his ships again and play resumes. Bodhi manages to sink Cassian’s battleship, feeling vindicated at least “Looks like your military strategy was no match for me,” he says jokingly. Of course it’s when he’s smiling goofily at Cassian’s disappointed expression that Jyn finally decides to open the door and peek in.

“ _Really_?” Jyn says, taking in the scene and laughing. “I figured you’d gotten to second base when you guys didn’t come out, not gotten distracted playing board games!” Bodhi feels his skin flush. Cassian shrugs and rubs his neck awkwardly.

“I sunk his battleship? If that counts for anything...” Bodhi jokes, Cassian snorts at the remark. Jyn looks like she’s holding back her own laugh, shaking her head.

“At least lie to Han about it. For me,” she says before shutting the door and leaving them alone again.

“I’m moving out,” Bodhi tells Cassian, burying his face in his hands overdramatically.

“She means well, I’m sure...even if she did probably enter into a bet with Solo,” Cassian says. Bodhi figures she deserves the loss for so wildly miscalculating Bodhi’s flirting ability.

“Did she really think...I mean, let’s be honest, I’m the last person you’d want to kiss right?” Bodhi says, hoping Cassian will just politely agree and let them both move on. Instead, when Bodhi looks up, Cassian’s brow is furrowed. Cassian says something, but it’s drowned out by someone yelling in the hall. Bodhi tenses, worried someone might open the door and see how pathetic he looks waiting for Cassian’s kind rejection.

“What?” Bodhi asks when the noise dies down and the footsteps in the hall fade. Cassian pushes the Battleship game out of the way as best he can without scattering the pieces everywhere, shifting up on his knees to lean in closer to Bodhi’s space.

“I said, what gave you that idea?” He must be losing his mind, imagining the way Cassian’s eyes flick down to his lips and back up again. Up close, Cassian is unfairly gorgeous, even in the dull light of the closet, his warm brown eyes making Bodhi’s heart race all over again. Bodhi makes himself look away, swallowing hard before he speaks.

“I mean, I wouldn’t expect you to want that with me. Jyn knows I have a crush and it wasn’t fair to you to just-" Cassian cuts Bodhi off, reaching out to grasp his hand where he’s started fidgeting with his sleeve again.

“Bodhi, I’ve been flirting with you all semester. I thought _you_ weren’t interested.”

“That’s _insane_ Cassian, have you met yourself? Anyone in this apartment would love to be in here with you.” Cassian is blushing and Bodhi almost can’t even process what he’s said.

“Anyone...including you?” Cassian asks, looking hopeful, his fingers running up Bodhi’s wrist in a soothing motion. 

Bodhi nods and the way Cassian lights up is like a thousand stars coming suddenly to life. Cassian moves his hand from Bodhi’s wrist only to tug him forward by his sweatshirt. Bodhi doesn’t waste any more time, leaning in to meet Cassian half way in a tender kiss. Their lips melt together and Bodhi doesn’t even feel jilted by the fact that they probably could have been doing this for the past twenty minutes. Bodhi feels greedy, pressing further into Cassian’s space now that he finally can, nearly crawling into Cassian’s lap to deepen the kiss. Cassian seems surprised but pleased, tilting his head to give Bodhi better access and clutching at Bodhi’s hip to keep balance. Bodhi gets lost in the sensation, lifting a hand to curl in Cassian’s hair. It’s just as soft as he’d imagined, and he sighs embarrassingly. Cassian hums back and Bodhi can’t help but smile into the kiss.

When they break for air, Bodhi feels dazed, clutching at Cassian’s arm just to prove to himself this is _real_ , and not some insane fever dream. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d dreamed about Cassian...but that was a completely different story that Cassian could never know about. Bodhi leans his head on Cassian’s shoulder and feels like laughing, burying his grin in the fabric of Cassian’s shirt instead. Cassian rests a hand on the small of Bodhi’s back and it’s grounding and overwhelming all at once.

“I guess you weren’t kidding,” Bodhi says, pulling back just to look at Cassian.

“I really wasn’t,” Cassian agrees, lips quirking into a smile.

“Want to get out of here? My room is just down the hall...” Bodhi offers, feeling warm and eager to get somewhere he can actually touch Cassian rather than the closet floor.

“I’ll grab the Battleship board, we can go another round,” Cassian says, lowering his voice suggestively. 

“Kissing or actually playing? Because you better not ch-” Cassian cuts him off with another kiss. Bodhi leans into it for a moment, getting distracted by Cassian’s hands on his waist. Is strip Battleship a thing? Maybe Cassian will take him up on the chance to find out. They duck out of the closet and make their way to Bodhi’s room as promised. Later, when their lips are swollen from kissing for so long, and they've knocked all of Bodhi's blankets onto the floor, they hear the countdown begin. They pull apart and Bodhi feels like his heart is going to beat out of his chest looking down at Cassian. 

“Happy New Year.”

Cassian smiles. “I think it will be.” Bodhi leans in and kisses him again, the sound of faint cheers in the background echo through the apartment. From the way the first moments have gone, Bodhi thinks Cassian might be right.


End file.
